Outgoing Rangers man spotted at European airport as Ibrox club near unexpected £4m transfer boost

Rangers are expected to cash-in on out-of-favour midfielder Jose Cifuentes after he was spotted at an airport in Greece ahead of finalising his move to Aris Thessaloniki.

The Ecuadorian international is nearing a switch to the Super League side after an image was shared on social media of the 25-year-old arriving in the country this morning as he prepares to join on an initial season-long loan deal with a mandatory obligation to buy clause.

It’s been reported that the Ibrox side will cover part of his £16,000-a-week waged in full during his loan spell. Sport 24 claim that Aris expect the Light Blues to cover his salary in full for the upcoming campaign in Greece. It’s claimed that the player’s current pay packet is in the region of €1million (£860k).

Cifuentes, who had a temporary stint with Brazilian outfit Cruzeiro cut short in order to allow him to return to Europe, made no impact during his short time in Glasgow and has not been given a second chance to convince manager Philippe Clement he should be part of his revamped squad.

And while he failed to live up to expectations after arriving in Govan just 12 months from MLS club Los Angeles FC for £1.2million, Rangers now look set for an unexpected bumper payday of around £4.2m next summer when his loan deal becomes permanent.

Cifuentes made just 20 appearances for the Gers and similarly failed to create a good impression on his return to South America, playing just 12 games. Given his performances under previous boss Michael Beale, few supporters would’ve been expecting to make any profit on the player.

Contrary to reports last week, Cifuentes has not passed his medical as of yet and will carry out fitness tests this afternoon before putting pen to paper. He agreed terms with Aris last month but the transfer has been delayed until now due to Cruzeiro’s lengthy wait to cancel their loan agreement with Rangers, which encountered complications because of work permit regulations.